


(so much for) my happy ending

by ghostlivvy



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, One sided relationship, Past Character Death, Snaibsel, featuring dick grayson being a wingman, not really but kind of, post season two, yk who i’m talking about, zatanna pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24000016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostlivvy/pseuds/ghostlivvy
Summary: When the realization hit Zatanna, it hit her hard.She realized she was in love with Artemis Crock.… And Artemis had no clue.
Relationships: Artemis Crock/Zatanna Zatara
Comments: 9
Kudos: 38





	(so much for) my happy ending

**Author's Note:**

> i’m actually sorta proud?? of this fic
> 
> TW (just in case) there is mentions of a major character death
> 
> other than that i just really wanted to write some wlw content that wasn’t too angsty after listening to my happy ending by avril lavigne.
> 
> hope you like it :)
> 
> edit: here’s a playlist for this fic https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4cxCtHPmZO6Upd510SYeCo?si=1rb9nu8oTo2FF_f1D3aCMg

After the death of Wally West, the world mourned and moved on. The Justice League moved on, the team slowly adjusted to the speedster's absence, and the Flash had taken on a new Kid Flash in his nephew’s memory.

It seemed like everyone was doing better. They were getting better. They loosen their grip on their grief.

And Artemis hated everything about that because she couldn’t seem to do the same. She didn't move on. She remembered her love for Wally. She remembered the life they shared together. She couldn’t forget being robbed of it. Of _him_.

She couldn't let go of her grief.

None of her friends could do much to help her. Not Kaldur with his soothing presence. Not Conner, who offered her an outlet for her anger. Not M'gann with her kind understanding self. Not Raquel's sarcastic quips that only rivaled Artemis’s own. Not even Dick could comfort her. Despite all this, Zatanna tried to help Artemis.

She was patient with her when she didn’t feel like doing anything. She held her whenever she cried and whispered words of comfort. She listened to her recount a memory, knowing that seeing her smile was enough (even though it was often bittersweet). She stayed when everyone else left her alone, claiming she needed space. She always gave her a respectable amount of space whenever she asked for it. She really genuinely cared about her.

Zatanna thought she did all these things because Artemis was her best friend. And that was true... until recently, she began to think there was something _more_.

Zatanna had always looked forward to seeing Artemis, but now she felt her heart race whenever she went to see her.

Zatanna felt amazing seeing Artemis smile and laugh with her (especially when she was the reason for the bright smile on her face).

She yearned to hear Artemis’s deep voice. She could have been talking about the formation of cement and Zatanna would listen to every word Artemis said because it was _Artemis_ saying it.

Zatanna loved being embraced by her and breathing in her vanilla scented shampoo that lingered in her hair after she showered.

She felt a wonderful rush whenever Artemis complimented her, saying she looked cute with her bowtie on or saying that her outfit brought out the electric blue of her eyes. Her heart felt like running a marathon whenever Artemis was close to her, whether she reached over her to get what she was needing (Artemis was too stubborn to simply ask Zatanna to pass it to her) or Zatanna braided her hair when Artemis asked her to do it without her backwards spells because she thought Zatanna relied on her magic too much.

She flushed when Artemis asked for her opinion on an outfit, because Zatanna thought she looks beautiful no matter what she wore.

These new emotions scared Zatanna. A lot. She never felt such strong feelings since dating Dick Grayson. Zatanna could safely say her old feelings for Dick couldn't compare to her new feelings for Artemis. And that was truly terrifying to her.

She thought about limiting her time with Artemis, but decided against it. She couldn't bear the idea of forcing herself to purposely stay away from Artemis.

When the realization hit Zatanna, it hit her _hard_.

She realized she was in love with Artemis Crock.

… And Artemis had no clue.

As Zatanna walked to the bus stop, she saw teenage boys riding skateboards and remembered Artemis sprained her ankle when she was sixteen. She was so upset when she had to sit out on missions for about three months, waiting for her body to heal itself. Zatanna had offered to sit out with her, but she knew Artemis would kick her ass if she suspected any pity (though Zatanna just wanted to keep her company). She smiled to herself as if she knew something you didn’t and kept walking.

She slapped her forehead and scolded herself when she realized what she was doing again.

It was already the fifth time this week that Zatanna let her mind drift to the certain archer. It’s not Zatanna’s fault she can’t stop thinking about Artemis. It’s not like she asked to be in love with her best friend. It would have been really frustrating except that she loved everything about Artemis.

She also loved and cherished their friendship, which is exactly why she had to get over her and quick before she got her heart broken. Zatanna tried everything she could think of. She tried ignoring her feelings (which never worked out) and dating other people (she subconsciously imagined her date’s face as Artemis’s face), but nothing seemed to work. Zatanna was in too deep, and she couldn’t get out.

What was she going to do when she sees Artemis today? What was she going to _say_?

_“Hi Artemis! You look beautiful today like you look beautiful everyday. God, I just love you.”_

No. Nope. Not gonna happen.

Zatanna panicked and took out her cell phone. She quickly dialed the first number she thought of. The phone rang out in her ear until the person on the other line picked up.

"Hello?"

Zatanna sighed in relief, letting out her panicking. "Dick, it's so great to hear your voice."

She heard a yawn over the phone. Zatanna tensed at the thought that she might have accidentally woke him up.

"Zee… what's up?"

"Is this a bad time? You know I could call you back later," she said apologetically.

"No, no. I've got time for you," reassured Dick.

Zatanna relaxed her tense muscles. "Good. I need help with a problem."

He didn't say anything, so she knew he was giving her the chance to continue.

"I’m… in love with..." Zatanna quickly realized this was the first time she admitted her feelings towards Artemis out loud.

“With me?” Dick guessed. Goddamn, why did she think it was a good idea to tell this to her _ex-boyfriend_ , of all the people?

Zatanna almost laughed out loud. "God no! With Artemis."

Whatever Dick was going to say, he must have stopped himself when he heard his friend’s name. "Artemis? As in Artemis _Crock_?"

She bit her lip. "The one and only."

" _Shit_."

“Shit indeed."

They both must have had the same person in the head. One doesn’t just think about Artemis without remembering about how the love of her life had sacrificed himself for the greater good.

The bus had come and stopped to open the door. Zatanna stepped inside and sat on one of the first available seats. She could have easily arrived at Artemis's apartment with a simple spell, but Zatanna knew she was stalling by purposely taking the long way to get there. "I'm going to her apartment right now. What should I do when I see her?"

"Um, maybe try being honest with her. I seriously doubt Artemis will be mad at you, I mean, it is _you_ ," Dick paused, then spoke again, “You’re her best friend. She trusts you.”

"Why do I sense a ‘but’ in that sentence?”

He snickered. “ _But_ I do think it’s too soon. She is still hung up on Wally. Unless something has changed since I last saw her, but you see her more than I do so you should know.”

“I’ll tell you what I do know. She's not ‘hung up’ over Wally, Dick. She’s still _fucking_ grieving and I’m trying to help her out, but I feel there’s still more I could do, you know.” Zatanna let out a shaky breath. “Besides, if I confessed then she would have to deal with me along with her grief _and_ her studies."

Zatanna was there for Artemis and helped her through every step of the mourning process. She stayed by her friend's side to remind her that she was not alone. She didn't want to leave Artemis alone with her grief.

The rest of the team didn't come as much as Zatanna and Dick did, but Dick couldn’t see Artemis too often since he spent most of his time on important top secret mission work in Blüdhaven. Her mother, Paula Crock being handicapped couldn't travel easily, so Artemis usually went to her when she wanted her mom's comfort. Her sister, Jade, only saw her once to give her condolences. That meant a lot to Artemis.

"I can't do that to her, Dick," Zatanna said softly.

"I thought she was doing better,” Dick said quietly.

Zatanna wanted to scream. The truth is that she _was_ doing much better. Not to how she used to be before, but to the version of Artemis, who faced the worst emotional pain she might ever have to face in her lifetime and was still going to be okay eventually. Zatanna liked to think she played her part in helping Artemis become the girl she was in love with.

Instead, Zatanna just said the simple truth, “She is.”

“Well, I trust you will do the right thing for Artemis… and yourself too. To tell her or not. I trust your judgement more than mine anyway," Dick replied.

Zatanna smiled. "That's not helpful when I have no idea what to do, but thanks. Love you. Bye," She rushed to end their conversation as the bus made her stop.

"See you around, Zee." He hung up.

After paying for the bus ride, Zatanna walked five blocks before arriving at Artemis's apartment, which used to be both hers and Wally’s. She didn’t understand why Artemis still lived there other than the fact that it was close to the university she attended. You’d think living there would bring up unwanted memories, but if that were true for Artemis, she never seemed to show it. At least, not that much.

The fall semester was almost over and Zatanna knew Artemis had been stressing out over her final exams. To cheer her up, Zatanna had brought Artemis some Skittles, which they both loved to snack on while they watched a crappy movie to make fun of it. That always managed to make Artemis feel a bit better after she overloaded her brain with knowledge she would only ever use in a college exam. Zatanna was glad she was homeschooled her whole life or the public schooling would have driven her to the edge of insanity.

As she approached the front door, Zatanna looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching her. When she noticed the only living being watching the neighbor’s tabby cat, she lifted the welcome mat and picked up Artemis's spare key. She unlocked the apartment and put the key back in it's hiding place.

The apartment was dim lit; the only source of light came from the window, though there wasn't much light coming through Artemis’s thick emerald curtains. Zatanna flipped the light switch of the living room, then the kitchen slash dining room, then Artemis's (and previously Wally's) bedroom until she found the blonde.

She had expected to find Artemis buried under blankets, not asleep, but thinking with her eyes open. Instead, Artemis was sitting on the floor, and typing on her laptop. There were three empty cups of coffee discarded aside from Artemis. She was currently drinking – what Zatanna assumed was – her fourth.

When she finally noticed Zatanna standing in her room, Artemis stopped what she was doing. "Oh, hey Zee," she greeted Zatanna with a soft smile that managed to melt her heart.

"Hi," Zatanna said sweetly.

"Uh, you want some coffee?" Artemis offered with a teasing smirk. She shook her head in response. Zatanna preferred to drink tea over coffee, and Artemis was disgusted by the fact like any coffee addict would be. She had this idea that if she tried to get Zatanna to drink more coffee, she’d change her preference. Zatanna was surprisingly dead set on denying any sort of caffeine Artemis might possibly offer her.

"What are you working on? It's kind of early for you to be doing homework," she said, knowing that Artemis does her school during the early afternoon, not at nine thirty in the morning.

Artemis shrugged. "I couldn't sleep so I figured I might as well be productive. I've been typing an essay for my Vietnamese Lit Two class since five o'clock."

"Five o'clock in the morning!" Zatanna repeated. "How many hours did you sleep last night?" she asked, concern laced in her voice.

"One," Artemis replied. "Maybe two if blinking counts as sleeping."

“It doesn’t.”

Zatanna shook her head in disappointment, causing Artemis to sigh. "Can you _not_ get mad at me right now?" she pleaded.

"I'm not mad at you," Zatanna quickly reassured her friend. She didn’t think there was such a thing as being mad at Artemis Crock. "I just worry about you."

"Don't," Artemis said abruptly, "you sound like my mom when you do."

Zatanna let out a 'hmph' and snatched her friend’s laptop away. She saved the document Artemis had been working on and turned off the screen.

"Hey!" Artemis protested. “You do realize I’m required to kick your ass for that,” she quipped, reaching for her laptop.

"No, no, no," Zatanna lifted the laptop from Artemis’s reach and tossed it gently onto her unmade bed. "You're taking a break _and_ eating a real meal. No. More. Coffee."

Artemis gulped down the last of her coffee before Zatanna could snatch away her cup too.

" _Etativel_ ," Zatanna directed her spell to the empty cups, causing them to float in midair. She guided them to the kitchen sink and dragged Artemis along with her by the hook of her elbow.

She took a seat on the table and let out a loud yawn. "I think," Artemis rested her head in her hands, “I'll eat later and sleep now."

Zatanna cast her a warning look. She would not let Artemis charm her with her sarcasm today. She may have said the same thing last week and be charmed anyway, but this time was going to be different.

"But I was going to make you pancakes. I was even going to use whipped cream to make a smiley face," said Zatanna with a pout.

Artemis scoffed. "That's so creepy. I don't want my food smiling at me as I devour it," she shuddered.

Zatanna laughed, but made the pancakes anyway. She could have easily have used magic to prepare breakfast, but then she’d be wasting her cooking skills that M’gann had taught her back when they both lived at Mount Justice, the place Zatanna had considered her second home until it was blown up by Aqualad and Tigress who was really Artemis in disguise. Zatanna served her friend a glass of orange juice as she recalled how eventful the beginning of the year was.

It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time Zatanna finds herself staring at Artemis when she wasn't looking or didn’t notice. She is currently telling her about her recent mission where she teamed up with her cousin, Zachary Zatara to track down the chaos lord, Klarion in Gotham City. Whenever Artemis brought her attention to her pancakes or glanced at the analog clock that hung on the wall, Zatanna took a chance to admire at her beauty.

"We ended up at a dead end, which sucked. Oh, but Dick said hi, by the way."

"Tell him to say hi to me himself next time."

"Will do."

When she finished eating, Artemis cleared her plate. She left her dirty dishes in the dishwasher and went over to the couch in the living room. Zatanna joined her and sat by her side.

Artemis turned on the television and held out three discs of movies. "Do you wanna watch _Mean Girls_ , _Legally Blonde_ , or _Pitch Perfect 2_?"

Zatanna pretended to think about it. "I think I'll go with _Mean Girls_. I'm feeling bitchy today.”

Artemis let out a 'ha' and put the disc in the DVD player.

If Zatanna was going to be honest, she wasn't paying attention to the movie at all. How could she when Artemis was pressed against her so close? (Damn it, why did Artemis have to own such a small loveseat couch?)

Zatanna shared her Skittles with Artemis. She took them from her and hogged all the red ones. Every few minutes, she would face Artemis, and Artemis assumed Zatanna wanted a candy and put one in her mouth. She never fed her any purple Skittles, knowing Zatanna hated the purple ones.

At one point, Zatanna didn't look away from Artemis. There were no more Skittles left, which left Artemis wondering what was wrong. So she muted the television and faced her friend.

"What's up?" she simply asked, cutting straight to the point.

"I-I…" Zatanna could feel herself burning up. She could confess to Artemis her true feelings. She has an opportunity to do so right now. But would she actually go through it? It wouldn't be too hard to say the words – the three words she had been dying to tell her.

But instead Zatanna said, "I want to know why you couldn't sleep."

Artemis averted Zatanna's gaze now. She played with the sleeves of the sweater she was wearing. It’s a habit Zatanna learned Artemis did whenever she was uncomfortable and unguarded.

Now, she was regretting her last words.

“You don’t have to tell me–” Zatanna started to say, but trailed off when Artemis looked up at her with her sharp, steel gray eyes. They were practically piercing into her soul.

She didn't push for answers; Zatanna just waited.

"I kept dreaming about... about _him_."

She knew exactly who Artemis was referring to, but didn't dare speak his name. There is a silent agreement between them to leave his name unspoken.

Instead of invoking words of comfort, Zatanna wrapped an arm around Artemis. She waited to see if Artemis would push her off, and when she didn’t, Zatanna hugged her tightly.

"It's like I'm being haunted," Artemis continued, voice shaky. "He's in my dreams, in my mind, and I can't seem to let go.”

“Why?” Zatanna quietly asked and waited again.

Artemis let out a deep breath. “Because the last thing I want to do is let go. So I hold onto him in my memories and my mind. I can't help but think that if I let go, if I let myself move on, it'll be like he never existed in the first place. Then, he’ll truly be gone. I just can't..."

Artemis broke off. Her voice didn’t want to work. So Zatanna reached for her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. Artemis did not squeeze back, but she also didn’t let go.

"Hey, look at me," Zatanna whispered and cupped Artemis's cheek in her free hand. "He loved you so much, okay? You can't forget that, so don't forget that he was also so loved. By his family, his friends,” she briefly paused, “ _you_.

“None of these people are going to let his memory die. None of them could blame you for trying to move on with your life because they're trying to move on with theirs too. You think you can't do that, but Artemis, you can."

Artemis gave her a bittersweet smile as she closed her eyes and let her exhaustion force her to sleep in Zatanna’s arms. She rested her head on Zatanna's shoulder and Zatanna didn't have the heart to move her out of place.

So she let Artemis sleep and did what she always did when it came to Artemis Crock.

She supported her.

**Author's Note:**

> so no confession bc i didn’t want to rush the ending and i liked how i ended it
> 
> originally i was gonna bring wally back to life, but i couldn’t do that to my girl zatanna
> 
> let’s just assume that eventually artemis is gonna be okay and she’ll realize that zatanna has always been by her side and she’s start catching feelings and then my girls can finally be happy together!!
> 
> hope you liked it <3


End file.
